“There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.” —Zig Ziglar

“Ok— I don’t really know how to tell what type of Gulfstream is what…” My words trailed away slightly, hinting to my slight embarrassment that I didn’t know the names of the jets that surrounded me. The pilot— who was my connection and the reason I was given a chance to be around these jets— smiled. “Well, some of these are kind of hard to tell apart. See this one? Notice how many windows it has?” We walked around the ramp, me with a vacuum in hand, as he continued to explain what type of bird was called what while I listened to his descriptions of these million dollar aircrafts. It made me happy being around these jets. It made me happy being in Southern California again.

There are a few reasons why I haven’t really commented on what I am doing right now, one of those being that I haven’t really had any additional time. I wake up up between 4am and 5am, so that I can miss the LA traffic (that bitch is a real thing. let me tell you) on the 22 mile drive from my beach living to the airport. I get to the gym between 530am and 6am; lift weights, shower, get ready, and then drive 7 more minutes to work.” I’m living a type of routine that’s an unfamiliar respite to what I’ve always known in flight attendant life. I’m grounded. I’m technically in a 9 to 5. And oddly, I kind of love it. It’s an adventure to me right now.

And really, there’s something about being home.

There’s also something humbling about starting at the bottom. In some ways, I feel embarrassed, but in more ways, I feel incredibly grateful— which is another reason why I haven’t explained this chapter of my life yet. How do I explain what feels like the biggest gift and most amazing opportunity that I’ve had in awhile? That’s saying a lot too when I have just returned from an all expenses paid blogging trip to Israel. My life is full of amazing opportunity and I can’t thank everyone— God, the friends who have encouraged me, and the people who believe in me— enough. And for you personally; the many readers who find this space of stories. THANK YOU! I see your comments and read your emails. There have been many times that I have screen-shoted your words of hopeful support, so that I can look back during a down moment and find hope myself. I’m not in a down moment, though. I’m in a space of hard work and learning. I feel like I’m in a space of finding my sparkle again.

I wouldn’t say what I’m doing right now is my dream exactly, but I can see how it’s leading to my dream. Zig Ziglar said, “There are no elevators to success. You have to take the stairs.” Sometimes we want to achieve really big things in our lives, but we aren’t willing to begin anywhere. We aren’t willing to spend two months in commercial flight attendant training. We aren’t willing to spend $4000 on private flight attendant training. We aren’t willing to start at $15 an hour; wash dishes and wipe down dusty hangars. If you aren’t willing to put in the work, you’ll never truly appreciate the gift when it does arrive.

I can’t even believe how exciting everyday is to me, because it’s really not that glamorous right now. It’s a very autonomous position, where one needs to be aware of what needs to be done and self-motivated to do it. I really like that, though. It’s not like The Airline that always tells you what to do and you kind of need to be a cookie-cutter character. Here, I see creativity, hard-work, teamwork, and self-direction encouraged and supported. Yes, there’s always a right way to do things or a way that has worked for someone else, but you are allowed to grow into your version of a successful professional cabin attendant. The people are kind and some of the most experienced aviation professionals I have ever seen. An environment of learning like that— PRICELESS.

There’s more I can go on with and more I can say, but I need to go clock-in soon. I just want you to know this:

It’s not easy starting over. It’s humbling beginning at the bottom. It’s different being the “new girl.” BUT, it’s worth it. So worth it! Do it for yourself. Do something that makes you feel like it’s “really worth it.” I can see how my path is now building for my future and because of that, I can put up with hours of LA traffic. I can handle the early mornings and late nights. I can even love the very routine and grounded existence, because it’s worth it. I want you to know that if you are facing a tough decision about where to go and what to do next, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!! And then do whatever it takes to create a life of your dreams.

“You must give everything to make your life as beautiful as the dreams that dance in your imagination.”— Roman Payne